Securing means for filamentary bodies



Oct. 10, 1961 E. T. LLOYD EI'AL SECURING MEANS FOR FILAMENTARY BODIES 2 Sheets-Sheet F'IG.2.

Filed Oct. 1, 1957 10 Inventors m mmJ w L M T M m/ E E Oct. 10, 1961 E. T. LLOYD ETAL 3,003,714

SECURING MEANS FOR FILAMENTARY BODIES Filed Oct. 1, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventors EDWA/QD T LLOYD flEN/Qy If HUADE/Q/VESS Attorhey United States Patent 3,003,714 SECURING MEANS FOR FILAlVIENTARY BODIES Edward Thompson Lloyd, New Eltham, London, and

Henry Kenneth Holderness, Gravesend, England, as-

signors to W. T. Henleys Telegraph Works Company Limited, London, England Filed Oct. 1, 1957, Ser. No. 687,390 Claims priority, application Great Britain Oct. 3, 1956 Claims. (Cl. 242-1251) This invention relates to means for securing a filamentary body to a receptacle to facilitate the winding of a length of the body upon the receptacle. Hereinafter such means are referred to as securing means.

Securing means according to the invention have particular application in continuous spooling machines for spooling very fine wire at high speeds. It will be appreciated, however, that securing means according to the invention may be used wherever it is desired to secure a filamentary body to a receptacle.

The object of the invention is to provide simple and inexpensive securing means which are capable of automatically gripping a filamentary body when the latter is led thereto by e.g. the flaking gear of a spooling machine.

According to the invention means for securing a filamentary body to a receptacle to facilitate the winding of a length of the body upon the receptacle comprises a tongue arranged so that a first part thereof lies against a surface forming part of, or associated with, the receptacle, while a second part of the tongue is spaced from said surface sufficiently to allow the filamentary body to be introduced between the tongue and the surface, the tongue being so arranged that as the filamentary body moves between the tongue and the surface towards said first part of the tongue the body jams and is held.

Preferably the tongue is made of springy material, eg spring steel.

When the receptacle is in the form of a flanged spool the tongue may be attached to the inner face of one of the flanges of the spool or the tongue may be attached to a plunger which passes through an aperture in a flange of the spool. Conveniently the plunger is mounted on the flange of an arbor on which the spool is carried.

The tongue may include a triangular portion of springy material which lies against said surface along one side of the triangle and has the apex opposite said one side spaced from said surface. When the tongue has a triangular portion and is mounted on a flanged spool, or a plunger is associated with a flanged spool, the median of the triangle which passes through said apex may be arranged to be radial with respect to the axis of the spool.

Embodiments of the invention will be described by way of example in the reference to the accompanying drawings, and are intended for use in a spooling machine wherein a flanged spool is mounted for rotation upon an arbor which is provided with a flange against which one flange of the spool abuts.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional side elevation of one embodiment, on the line l-I of FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 2 is a front elevation thereof,

FIGURE 3 is a sectional side elevation of another embodiment,

FIGURES 4 to 6 are diagrammatic illustrations of a continuous spool embodying the invention, in three different positions.

Referring to FIGURES l and 2, the flange 10 formed as a unit with an arbor indicated at 16 has an aperture in which is mounted a body 11 formed with a cylindrical bore 12. Slidable in the bore is a plunger 13 urged by a compression spring 14 towards the flange 15 of a spool 3,003,714 Patented Oct. 10, 1961 that has been placed on the arbor 16 so that the free end of the plunger projects through an aperture provided in the spool flange '15. A flange 17 on the plunger 13 ensures correct axial location, and a guide screw 18 in the body 11 prevents peripheral movement of the plunger 13.

At the free end of the plunger 13 is a tongue 19 having its root secured by a screw 20 to an axial flat 21 on the plunger and having its free end of triangular shape, with the tip 19A turned slightly away from the surface constituted by the end of the plunger. The plunger 13 is of such length that when the flange 15 of the spool is in contact with the flange 10 of the arbor '16, the end of the plunger 13 will be flush with the inner surface of the spool flange '15 while the tip 19a of the tongue is close to the winding surface of the spool.

FIGURE 3 shows a simpler embodiment. Here a solid body '22 carries the tongue 19, secured by the screw 20. No axial movement is provided. In many installations this simple construction is however all that is required.

The operation of the securing means will be described in connection with use of on a spooling machine illustrated diagrammatically in FIGURES 4 to 6, in which a rotatable bowl 25 carries two arbors 26, 27, each arbor being arranged to receive a spool 28 or 29 in a manner well known in the art, to bear against the flanges of the arbors '26, 27, said flanges carrying securing means as hereinbefore described. The arbors are arranged at diametrically opposite points on the bowl 25 and are brought into an operative winding position in succession so that when the spool on one arbor is full the other arbor, bearing an empty spool, may be brought into the operative position and the arbor bearing the full spool is moved to an inoperative position and an empty spool substituted for the full spool. Flaking gear of any suitable known type, indicated at 32 is provided to flake the filamentary body across the spool during winding.

The bowl 25 also carries two fixed knives 30, 31 arranged in diametrically opposite relation, for a purpose to be described.

Assuming that the spool in the operative position (the spool 29, see FIGURE 4) is nearly full, the bowl 25 is rotated anti-clockwise so that the full spool 29 moves away from the operative position and the empty spool 28 driven at a suitable speed, moves towards the operative position (see FIGURE 5). As the empty spool 28 comes into the operative position its barrel will come into contact with the filamentary body 33 which is still being wound on to the full spool 29, and as the filamentary body 33 is flaked across the empty spool 28 it catches under the point of the tongue 19 and jams (as shown in FIGURE 6), so that as the empty spool 28 rotates, the filamentary body will be wound thereon.

Immediately following the jamming of the filamentary body under the tongue 19, the knife 30 encounters that part of the filamentary body 33 extending between the two spools, and cuts it.

This ensures that the filamentary body 33 is cut at a distance from the tongue 19 and eliminates breakage of the filament at the tongue and the possibility of consequent loss of jam at the tongue.

When the embodiment of FIGURE 1 is employed as the filamentary material builds up on a spool, the lateral pressure on the inside faces of the flanges of the spool acts on the apex 19a of the tongue 19 and forces the plunger 13 away from the free end of the arbor, until the tongue 19 is entirely contained within the flange 15 of the spool.

When the spool 28 is full the bowl 25 is again rotated and an empty spool is brought into the operative position, so re-staritng the cycle shown in FIGURES 4 to 6. The full spool is then removed from the arbor and in some cases, as the spool is moved away from the plunger, the filamentary body may remain jammed between the tongue 19 and the end of the plunger 13 without breaking off from the coil, so that the inside end of the spooled coil of filamentary material is made available externally of the spool.

it will be seen that the invention provides a simple and inexpensive, yet effective means of securing a filamentary body to a receptacle. In the embodiment described the securing means may be applied to existing spooling machines merely by mounting a plunger in an aperture in the flange of the winding arbor and drilling corresponding holes in the flanges of existing spools, and thus no special and expensive spools are required. Moreover, the means according to the invention is effective at the high speeds, e.g. 4500 ft/min, used in coiling fine wire.

We claim:

1. In a continuous spooling machine for filamentary bodies, the combination of a spool having a flange with an aperture therein, an arbor formed with a flange and arranged to receive said spool flange in abutting engagement therewith, a projection on the inside face of the arbor flange and passing through said aperture in said spool flange and formed with a projection face associated with the surface of said spool flange remote from said arbor flange, and a tongue provided on said projection face pointing inwardly towards the axis of rotation of said spool, said tongue having a first part thereof lying against said projection face, while a second part of said tongue is spaced from said projection face sufficiently to allow a filamentary body to be introduced between said tongue and said projection face, whereby as the filamentary body moves between said tongue and said projection face towards said first part of said tongue, said filamentary body jarns and is held.

2. In a continuous spooling machine for filamentary bodies, the combination of a spool having a flange with an aperture therein, an arbor formed with a flange and receiving said spool flange in abutting engagement therewith, a spring-loaded plunger mounted on the inside face of said arbor flange and passing through said aperture in said spool flange and formed with a plunger face associated with the surface or" said spool flange remote from said arbor flange, and a triangular tongue of springy material provided on said plunger face, having a tip pointing inwardly towards the axis of rotation of said spool, said tongue having a first part thereof lying against said plunger face, while the tip of said tongue is spaced from said plunger face, whereby a filamentary body jams and is held as it is introduced and moves between said tongue said plunger face towards said first part of said tongue.

3. A combination as claimed in claim 2, wherein the median of said triangular portion which passes through said tip is radial with respect to the axis of rotation of said spool.

4. in a continuous spooling machine for filamentary bodies, the combination of a spool having a flange with an aperture therein, an arbor formed with a flange and receiving the spool flange in abutting engagement there with, a boss on the inside face of said arbor flange and passing through said aperture in said spool flange and formed with a boss face associated with the surface of said spool flange remote from said arbor flange, and a tongue made of resilient material, provided on said boss face pointing inwardly towards the axis of rotation of said spool, said tongue having a first part thereof lying against said boss face, while a second part of this tongue is triangular in shape and lies against said boss face along the base of the triangle, and has an apex opposite said base spaced from said boss face, the median of said tri angle which passes through said apex being radial with respect to the axis of rotation of said spool, whereby as a filamentary body moves between said tongue and said boss face towards said first part of said tongue, said filamentary body jams and is held.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 766,936 De Roseau Aug. 9, 1904 1,681,263 Smith Aug. '21, 1928 1,707,380 Young Apr. 2, 1929 2,661,161 Hicks et a1. Dec. 1, 1953 

